James J. Smith’s Bonsai Gallery at Heathcote Gardens

| Flower Roberts

Heathcote Botanical Gardens is located in the Treasure Coast section of Florida.

The James J. Smith Bonsia Gallery is located there.  This is the largest collection of tropical bonsai in the United States.

Bougainvillea(1998)

I marveled at the craftsmanship and time it must have taken to create such specimen. I took a photo of the information on Bonsai. Click on it to enlarge it, if you are interested in reading it.

Here are just a few of the dozens of tiny trees.

Crepe Myrtle (2002)
Black Olive (1992)
Water Jasmine/ Wrightia religiosa (1990)
Water Jasmine in bloom
Bougainvillea (1989)

I especially loved the trees in bloom. They were like magical , trees from a fairyland.

Dwarf Jade/ Portulaca afra (1961)

This Surinam Cherry even had fruit on it.  It was my favorite.

Surinam Cherry/ Eugenia uniflora
Surinam Cherry fruit
Surinam Cherry branch

I wish I were tiny and cute.

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Cat Private Eyes and Lizard Spies

| Flower Roberts

Mr. Flower and I recently visited the beautiful but not so peaceful

Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce Coast, Florida.

The gardens are all themed and connected by shady walkways.

I truly enjoyed wondering along the paths and examining the flowers.

But I could not shake the feeling of being watched.

I slowed my paced and quieted my breaths.

Yes. I heard tiny footfalls through the vegetation.

Yes,  there were little eyes peeking out at me.  Were they guarding the bonsai?

Not only that, I was being followed.  I was tailed by one pursuer, then another.

Every time I turned around with my camera, my stalker would sit down and look the other way.

I even tried to hide in the facilities, but there were eyes everywhere!

This lasted longer than Mr. Flower’s patience. He wanted to get on the road toward home.

While I was running for my life, he was lounging on this lovely bench.

He cared nothing about my being spied upon.  When I pointed out the culprits, he only laughed.

He wouldn’t know a good mystery if it jumped down from the tree and bit him.

I guess I should share some flower photos from Heathcote Botanical Gardens.

Stay tuned for more.

FLOWER in no Fool.

The Bluestone of Boaz Vaadia

| Flower Roberts

There was a visiting sculpture exhibit at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden.

The art was by an Israeli-American, Boaz Vaadia (1951 – 2017).

Sculptures were displayed on the lawn. They appeared friendly and playful.

Yo’ah with Dog by Boaz Vaadia

Small, bluestone homonids were posed doing various tasks.

Shimshon by Boaz Vaadia

Some were accompanied by their little bluestone dogs.

Each little stone man had personality.  I am sure the folks that work there (and the bird) will miss these little guys when they move on to their next location.

This Boaz Vaadia exhibit at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens was supposed to end on May 6, 2018.  I am so glad we got to see it.

FLOWER

Sculpture with Spirit

| Flower Roberts

Ann Norton’s Sculpture Gardens at West Palm Beach, Florida was full of rare plants and huge sculpture,

but was never overwhelming or cluttered.  I need that skill.

Each large piece was carefully placed in its own palm grove alcove

to be discovered and experienced separately.

Ann Norton’s huge ‘Gateway’ pieces were formed from handmade brick. They were engineering marvels.

Gateway 4
Gateway 5

These two peices were made of bricks from North Carolina.

I especially loved the huge Horizontal piece in its own canal.  It’s bricks are from Mexico.  I love art that can be interpreted in many ways.  Ann Norton’s artwork left room for the imagination.

The ‘Seven Beings’ grouping of giant human figures could have been from the ancient past or the distant future.  They were not intimidating despite their size.

I loved how “someone” was looking at you no matter where you were standing.

Ann Norton ‘Seven Beings’

They stood silently in their own alley of palms. The individuals were slightly separated, so that each could be considered on its own as well as part of the “family/tribe.”

Each Being’s pose seemed to send some message through body language. I should have taken more photos of these. They were worth studying.

Ann Norton ‘Seven Beings’

Her former studio was open to be examined. I always find the workspace of others fascinating and inspiring.

Ann Norton Studio

In addition to her sculpture, there was a visiting exhibit of fabulous work by Israeli-American artist Boaz Vaadia and two hundred and fifty rare palms and cycads.

No, I will not be posting all 250 of them.  You wish!

Stay tuned.  Those are coming next.  The Florida blog blitz will continue.

FLOWER in Florida

 

My Trip to Another Planet to Visit the Queen

| Flower Roberts

Okay, I was really still on Earth; but Zone 10 seemed like another planet.

Everything was bigger there in Florida… the plants, the shrimp, the hotels, the prices.

The Shrub Queen was my “Plant Identification” tour guide through the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.

I would ask the name of the plant I was pointing to and she would supply both its Latin and common name.

Many times I would respond with “Holy #*@, that’s a house plant.”  So even the houses are bigger in Florida.

Just joking.  These plants grow multiple times bigger in Zone 10 because there is so much more sunlight to make food through photosynthesis, also heat and time to grow.  The growing season slows in “winter” , but never stops like here. Many of our plants die back to below ground and go dormant during the winter in Zone 7.

If I had chosen the name Flower Queen, I would have to demote myself.  My little tropical plants that I have been so proud of are itty-bitty versions of these giants.

Here are examples.  My epiphyllum has been growing nicely for three years.

Here is a wild one in Florida.

I have been super proud of my Cereus which greats folks in the foyer. Here is my “monster.” Zone 10 is 10x this size. (Not pictured)

The last example is quite an embarrassment.  Mr. Flower and I had been marveling at a certain tree whose silhouette we had spotted numerous times on our journey southward. I took a photo for the Shrub Queen to identify this possibly unusual and rare species.

To my chagrin, she informed me the it was a Norfolk Island Pine.

Here are my two.  Notice how especially pitiful the smaller one is (Rachel).  I was ashamed.

So I will conclude with; The Queen knows her stuff and the Flower knows her place.

FLOWER : Zone 7

We Are Real!

| Flower Roberts

Have you ever wondered if the bloggers that you follow are real people?

Well,  I have proof that both the Shrub Queen and the Flower are both real.

WE MET IN PERSON!

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I went on a trip to Florida with Mr. Flower. I sent Shrub Queen a message.

I was going to be staying near her location.

She came and picked me up.

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We spent a lovely day at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens.

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That post will follow.

For now you can rest easy in knowing the Shrub Queen and the FLOWER are not robots.

The real FLOWER.

What’s so Great about Grass?

| Flower Roberts

We may need to rethink this fescue fetish we have here in America.

Who needs grass when you can have your own meadow and eat it too?

Bright yellow Dandelions and greens mixed with a tiny purple blooming mint named Gill-over-the-ground and violets.  Why that’s a giant salad. When is the last time you’ve eaten grass?

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Not only is it lovely, but Goldfinches eat the dandelion seeds too.  Recognize that yellow?

 

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Now you tell me how a lawn of nothing but green could beat this?

Birds and Blooms.   Just what I love.

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FLOWER

Cedar-apple Rust

| Flower Roberts

I am so glad I happened to have my camera during a trip to the dump.

As I was tossing recycle items into the bins, I spied orange gooey blobs on the surrounding cedar trees.

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(Honey you finish up here, the Flower is on a mission.)

I had not seen these orange galls/telia in about thirty years.

These are caused by a fungus, Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginiana.

The fungus uses two host trees.

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The red cedar shown here is one type and the other type of host is apple trees.

The galls turn from a brownish ball to a mass of orange tentacles after a rain in the spring.

 

These galls/telia release spores which catch the wind and may find their way back to nearby apples trees to cause a rust on their leaves.

You never know when you may need your camera.  Always looking for a story.

FLOWER

 

Orange

| Flower Roberts

What is it about this color?

Apricot Drift rose

Maybe it reminds me of eating Dreamcycle ice creams on the sidewalk in elementary school or orange sherbert at my grandparents home.

My daddy’s famous, homemade peach ice cream is this dreamy, creamy orange.

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Juicy cantaloupe is this color.  More food?   I forgot lunch again.

Delosperma ‘Fire Spinner’

My daughter’s prom dress was a peachy color.

Super Trouper Dianthus

Okay, you get it.   I love orange..and purple.

Flame azalea and Night Affair iris

It’s happy but soothing when tinted with a hint of cream.

I can’t pass up a plant with blooms that are peachy, melon or salmon colored.

Flame Azalea ‘Gibralter’

It’s one of my daughter’s favorite colors, too.

I planted this ‘Super Trouper’ orange Dianthus in her garden while she’s been away.

She is a Super Trouper, so it is fitting.

This iris is a late bloomer, worth the wait.

Jelly Roll iris

The fairy garden got this tiny Superbells Calibrachia ‘Dreamsicle’, of course.

Calibrachia Super bells ‘Dreamsicle’

Yes. I do love orange.  I would have written a poem about it, but since nothing rhymes with orange…

FLOWER